`


THERE IS NO GOD EXCEPT ALLAH
read:
MALAYSIA Tanah Tumpah Darahku

LOVE MALAYSIA!!!


 


Monday, September 22, 2014

Kajang Move: From Act 1 to denouement

The chronology of events leading to Khalid Ibrahim's ouster and the appointment of Azmin Ali as the new Selangor Menteri Besar.
COMMENT
langkah kajangNotwithstanding rivalries within PKR, it is generally understood that the Menteri Besar fiasco began with the Kajang Move. To understand the crisis that now faces Selangor, one needs to look at the events that led to the move to oust Khalid Ibrahim from the MB’s position and who were the personalities that provided the rationale and momentum for his removal.
The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition has been ruling Selangor continuously for six and a half years, having won the state in the March 2008 election from Barisan Nasional.
PR is now into its second term, governing Selangor with a mandate renewed by the electorate in GE13, held in May 2013. PR holds the majority in the Selangor State Assembly with 44 representatives in an assembly of 56. The representation in the state house is as follows: PKR 13+(1 Khalid Ibrahim, now independent), DAP 15, PAS 15. Umno has 12 assemblymen.
It is unclear when the planning for the Kajang Move began, but the person most associated with the plot is PKR vice president and political strategist Rafizi Ramli. He apparently worked together with Parliamentary Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Last January, Kajang state assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh resigned after only eight months into his term. PAS criticised Anwar Ibrahim for engineering the Kajang by-election, seeing the move as a wasteful political exercise and a burden to an electorate already fatigued by GE13.
The candidate intended as replacement for Lee was Anwar himself, but due to an unfavourable scheduling of his appeal to the Federal Court in his sodomy case, PKR President Wan Azizah Ismail became the candidate instead.
Here are other highlight events in the Selangor political crisis:
  • March 23: Wan Azizah wins the Kajang by-election in a straight fight against MCA’s Chew Mei Fun with a reduced majority for PKR.
  • June-July: A campaign to malign Khalid gains momentum after he loses in the PKR divisional polls for Kuala Selangor. He is criticised for his failure to solve the Kidex Highway issue, his unilateral approval of the Federal-sponsored Selangor “water deal”, his ineffectual handling of the confiscation of Bibles by the Selangor Religious Department, his out-of-court settlement with Bank Islam in a suit over his personal debts amounting RM 66 million, and a controversial land deal involving Ecoworld.
  • July 22: Anwar announces Wan Azizah’s candidacy for the MB’s position, with Khalid still holding office and showing no signs of stepping aside. PAS complains it was not consulted on the matter of replacing Khalid but agrees to discuss the issue within PAS.
  • Aug 3: PKR’s Disciplinary Committee recommends Khalid’s expulsion from the party despite his absence from its proceedings. Khalid becomes the first independent MB in the history of Selangor.
  • Aug 14: PAS assemblymen Saari Sungip and Hasnul Burhanuddin sign statutory declarations to bring Wan Azizah’s assembly support to 30. PAS accuses the two assemblymen of treachery. The party’s so-called Erdogan faction voices its support for PAS to remain in Pakatan Rakyat as the coalition faces the danger of splitting apart.
  • Aug 17: PAS, in an extraordinary meeting of its central working committee, decides to propose Wan Azizah and Azmin Ali for the post of MB in direct conflict with PKR and DAP, which both propose Wan Azizah as their sole nominee.
  • Aug 26: Khalid submits his resignation but the Sultan of Selangor told him to delay it until the palace can determine his replacement. The Sultan directs PAS, PKR and DAP to separately submit more than two names for his consideration. In a joint statement, PKR and DAP say they maintain their recommendation of Wan Azizah as their sole candidate.
  • Sept 4: PAS Secretary-General Mustafa Ali discloses that his party has submitted three names to the Sultan.
  • Sept 8: The Sultan rebukes PKR and DAP for defying his directive.
  • Sept 9: DAP and PKR apologise to the Sultan, but do not say that they will comply with his directive.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.